In theory and in practice, planned maintenance programs make a lot sense. Catch imperfections before they become full-fledged problems, address those issues and carry on. Unplanned downtime becomes a rare occurrence, and the workplace becomes safer.
But despite the clear advantages of planned maintenance, many companies either struggle to get a program implemented at their facilities or avoid creating a maintenance schedule at all. Introducing a planned maintenance cycle to your locations may come with obstacles.
Here are four common challenges and how your company can overcome them:
1. Challenge: Getting buy-in from the C-suite
One of the biggest obstacles many facility managers or employees will face when implementing a planned maintenance program is getting the go-ahead from upper management. When reviewing the upfront time and financial costs, someone who isn’t fully familiar with facility operations might not understand the benefit of planned maintenance.
Solution: Come prepared with facts
The best way to counter doubt is with facts and statistics. Any evidence you present on the benefits of planned maintenance should align with your company’s current goals, such as downtime reduction, increased equipment availability, etc. Be prepared with financial information, like your previous year’s maintenance spend or losses due to breakdowns.
2. Challenge: Finding time to make a plan
Detailing a comprehensive planned maintenance program that spans every asset in your warehouse takes time. As any busy facility manager or employee knows, time is in short supply in a hectic work environment. Putting off the task of actually detailing a planned maintenance schedule is a common obstacle facilities need to overcome, Industry Week reported. You could begin the week with the best intentions, but once shipments start rolling in or inventory needs to be moved, it’s hard to find the time for key stakeholders to address a new initiative.
Solution: Work with a planned maintenance provider
Carving out time can be hard, but it’s an essential part of putting together a sound planned maintenance schedule. Luckily, working with a partner whose expertise lies in implementing planned maintenance programs can help companies clear this hurdle with ease. Miner’s service professionals can assess all equipment and assets in a facility and put together an effective program, taking into consideration original equipment manufacturer recommendations as well as your facility’s unique needs.
3. Challenge: Lacking information about maintenance needs
If you don’t know where or why breakdowns occur, it’s hard to get out in front of the problem. Planned maintenance schedules can’t be based on guesswork; you need to have information about your maintenance needs. Without details, your planned maintenance program may not address the most critical concerns in your facility.
Solution: Collect and review maintenance data
To begin, review the maintenance tasks carried out over the past year or two, which will give you good insight into the most problematic equipment or highlight an equipment failure cycle. Once you begin your planned maintenance schedule, continue to record information. Detail which items are inspected or serviced as well as when and what tasks were carried out. By analyzing all this information more closely, you can determine the true causes of equipment breakdowns and maximize your maintenance spend. Understanding the initial cause of a maintenance work order helps you focus on what really matters.
Working with a company that offers centralized maintenance services like Miner can help with this task. Our service professionals can share helpful details like asset costs, maintenance data and other information which all help to inform your maintenance strategy.
4. Challenge: Consistency between locations
If your company has multiple locations, you’ll need to roll out your planned maintenance schedule several times. You’ll have to discuss the plan with many sets of employees and assess maintenance for a variety of assets. Even if your facilities are nearly identical, with the same types of equipment at various locations, you may still have differences in terms of equipment age, environmental concerns and more.
Solution: Work with a nationwide provider
When choosing a planned maintenance partner to help implement and sustain your planned maintenance program, look for one with the ability to duplicate and deploy it among your many facilities. As a nationwide maintenance service provider, Miner is fully capable of providing the same skills and quality of services to facilities across the country.
